Which AV do you use?

Hi guys,

Could you share which Anti Virus software do you use if at all? I just got new Mac and I'm considering if I should get one.

Do not get an AV. Please do a search in this sub-forum to read up on. Anti Virus is a waste of money and resources on your Mac. Be mindful of WHERE you get your software and you'll be fine..

I think you'll find that many of our members do not use such programs on their Macs. This is partly due to the fact that many of these programs are resource hogs that slow performance but the main reasons are:

1. There is a degree of malware protection built into MacOS and it is updated regularly.
2. Because there are currently no actual Mac viruses loose "in the wild" the virus definitions these programs download to check against are usually based on definitions of Windows viruses which don't infect Macs but can infect any Windows partitions on your Mac. There is malware that affects Macs buts these programs as a rule don't address that issue. See this thread for more details. The post by Member Randy B. Singer is particularly informative.

I hope the "answer" is none!

But I do accept that users and members have their rightful preferences and, as indicated by Moderator Slydude, the fulsome summary on our Forums by Randy B. Singer is a gem of information.

Ian

Thanks a lot for the answers, very insightful.

I absolutely do not use any anti virus programs on my Mac and have never had an issue, plus I have a separate windows laptop for weather radar so I absolutely will not use a garbage os on my beautiful MacBook Pro

Well not since Classic OS 7, 8 and 9 days as there are no viruses. Sure some malware and adware, but Malwarebytes for Mac, Ghostery and AdBlock Plus keep them at bay.

I Use ESET Multi Device Internet Security or Bitdefender multi device Total Security.

My main home PC's and 1 laptop are on Windows 10 so I need to cover them. My 2015 Macbook Pro has a Bootcamp partition so I need to cover it as well. I know covering the MacOS is probably unnecessary but I do it anyway since it costs me nothing. My philosophy is it is better to be safe than sorry...

No it is not probably unnecessary ~ just plain unnecessary!

BitDefender is a resource hog so if you see your Mac slowing down you know where to start.

rbird2 said:

My philosophy is it is better to be safe than sorry...

Click to expand...

Not exactly. Yes...I understand what you're saying...but what if running an AV app on your Mac has a downside? One of the downside's of some AV apps is system slowdowns. Some AV apps require some system resources to do what they do...and this can slow things down from time to time. Thus if you're really not getting any benefits from an AV app on a Mac...then running an AV app may only have a downside (which is system slowdowns).

- Nick

I use common sense computing and try to avoid questionable sites.

Mac by default has minimum 3 layers of protection. Updated software, Gatekeeper, firewault, iCloud. All of these and a couple more features allow for increased security. Commonly known though, that no protection will keep you safe 100%. It is recommended to follow a couple of common practices to make it near 100%.

• Avoid shady links or links you don't recognize
• Be aware where you are browsing
• Don't click on ads
• Avoid downloading files that you don't recognize or if the website looks unsafe

Overall you should be good. If you do want increased protection, you could consider running an anti-malware solution of some form. Good luck!

At this time, I am using ESET and have not noticed any slowdown of MacOS using it. I have plenty of memory and a SSD so a performance hit is not a concern.

Since I my Macbook Pro is on a network with Windows PC's and I notice no performance degradation I see no reason not to have a bit of extra protection...

So, do you wear a bulletproof vest all the time? In the shower? Same difference.

I use Mac OS X.

ferrarr said:

So, do you wear a bulletproof vest all the time? In the shower? Same difference.

Click to expand...

If you lived in Chicago, yes, yes you would..

I have anti-virus running between my brain and right index finger. That's all I need!

mucegi said:

Could you share which Anti Virus software do you use if at all? I just got new Mac and I'm considering if I should get one.

Click to expand...

I used to respond to this frequently asked question with a long answer. But now I just recommend watching these excellent free videos:

Do Macs Need Anti-Virus Software?
http://macmost.com/do-macs-need-antivirus.html

How To Protect Your Mac From Malware
http://macmost.com/how-to-protect-your-mac-from-malware.html

Randy B. Singer said:

I used to respond to this frequently asked question with a long answer. But now I just recommend watching these excellent free videos:

Do Macs Need Anti-Virus Software?
http://macmost.com/do-macs-need-antivirus.html

How To Protect Your Mac From Malware
http://macmost.com/how-to-protect-your-mac-from-malware.html

Click to expand...

These videos are 6-7 years old so they prove nothing...

rbird2 said:

These videos are 6-7 years old so they prove nothing...

Click to expand...

A video that's 24 hours old has the same potential for being "out of date." Things change all the time.

At the time anything is recorded/documented, it is believed to be true. Anything can change at any time. Even though those two videos are seven and six years old, respectively, they contain a lot of information that is still true today. Instead of focusing on the dates that the videos were published, learn the content. Do your own research based on it. You'll find that you'll be able to draw the same conclusions today that were drawn when they were first published.